Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A computer system for instructing a user on repairing a vehicle, the computer system comprising at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, the computer system in communication with a user computer device associated with the user, the at least one processor is programmed to: receive, by the at least one processor from the user, a request to repair a vehicle, including information about the vehicle; transmit, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, an electronic message including instructions to display a link to a user interface to be displayed on the user computer device, wherein when the link is activated by the user the link causes additional instructions to be transmitted to the user computer device to display the user interface to be presented to the user of the user computer device; request, by the at least one processor from the user via the user interface, one or more images of the vehicle based on the information about the vehicle, wherein the request includes instructions for taking the one or more images of the vehicle; transmit, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, a plurality of instructions to cause the user interface of the user computer device to be updated to allow the user to search for a repair facility to repair the vehicle; store a machine learning model trained with a large sample of repair and vehicle damage data; execute the machine learning model using the one or more images of the vehicle, the machine learning model configured to determine damage to the vehicle based on at least the one or more images of the vehicle and to determine one or more repair facilities capable of performing repairs to the damage to the vehicle; transmit, to the user computer device, one or more additional instructions to display the determined one or more repair facilities capable of performing the repairs to the damages ahead of other repair facilities when presented to the user; receive, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, a selection of a repair facility; retrieve, by the at least one processor, a calendar of appointments from a repair facility computer device associated with the selected repair facility; receive, by the at least one processor via the user interface, a user selection of a date and time for an appointment; compare, by the at least one processor, the user selection of a date and time for the appointment to the calendar of appointments from the repair facility computer device; transfer, by the at least one processor, the information about the vehicle, the selected date and time, and the one or more images of the vehicle to the repair facility computer device; and receive, by the at least one processor via the user interface, a confirmation of the appointment from the repair facility computer device.
2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: generate, by the at least one processor, a plurality of questions about current conditions of the vehicle; transmit, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, a plurality of instructions to cause the user interface of the user computer device to display the plurality of questions about the current conditions of the vehicle; and receive, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface of the user computer device, a plurality of answers about the current conditions of the vehicle in response to the plurality of questions.
3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to generate the plurality of questions about current conditions of the vehicle to include if a hood of the vehicle opens and closes freely, if a trunk of the vehicle opens and closes freely, if doors of the vehicle open and close freely, if the vehicle appears to have any suspension damage, and if any fluids are leaking.
4. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to transmit, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, an electronic message including instructions to display a link to a user interface to be displayed on the user computer device, wherein when the link is activated by the user the link causes additional instructions to be transmitted to the user computer device to display the user interface to be presented to the user of the user computer device.
5. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: request, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, the one or more images of the vehicle based on the plurality of answers, wherein the request includes instructions for taking the one or more images of the vehicle; and receive, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, the one or more images of the vehicle captured by a camera of the user computer device.
6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: request, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, drivability information including whether or not the vehicle is able to be safely driven; if the determination is that the vehicle is not able to be safely driven, schedule, by the at least one processor, a phone call to continue the repair process; if the determination is that the vehicle is able to be safely driven, the at least one processor is further programmed to: transmit, by the at least one processor to the user computer device via the user interface, instructions to display a search interface to search for an inspection facility; receive, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, a selection of an inspection facility; if the determination is that the vehicle is able to be safely driven, the at least one processor is further programmed to: retrieve, by the at least one processor, a calendar of appointments from an inspection facility computer device associated with the selected inspection facility; receive, by the at least one processor via the user interface, a user selection of a date and time for an appointment; present, by the at least one processor to the user computer device via the user interface, a calendar to allow the user to set an inspection appointment with the inspection facility; and determine the inspection appointment based on user selections in the user interface and appointment information from the inspection facility computer device associated with the selected inspection facility.
7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: receive, from the user computer device via the user interface, a search request including a name of a repair facility; query one or more databases to recognize the repair facility based on the name; if the name is recognized, retrieve, from one or more databases, facility information about the repair facility; determine, via the one or more databases, whether the repair facility is a select service location based on the facility information; and request that the user reenter the name of the repair facility if the name is not recognized.
8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: receive, from the user computer device via the user interface, a search location for a repair facility, wherein the search location includes at least one of an address, a zip code, a municipality, and a present location of the user computer device; query, one or more databases, to determine a plurality of repair facilities within a predetermined distance of the search location; filter the plurality of repair facilities to generate a subset of repair facilities, wherein the subset of repair facilities are select service locations; present, to the user computer device via the user interface, the subset of repair facilities; and receive, from the user computer device via the user interface, a selection of one of the repair facilities of the subset of repair facilities.
9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein in response to the request to repair the vehicle, the at least one processor is further programmed to generate the link to the user interface, wherein the link is transmitted to the user computer device in at least one of a short message service (SMS) message, a multimedia messaging server (MMS) message, and an email message.
10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the information about the vehicle includes one or more of a make of the vehicle, a model of the vehicle, a year of the vehicle, a location of damage on the vehicle, identification of the vehicle, identification of the user, and the one or more images of the vehicle.
11. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: execute the machine learning model to analyze a plurality of answers from a plurality of vehicles and a plurality of selected repair facilities from a plurality of users; and determine one or more repair facilities to qualify as select service locations based on the executed machine learning model.
12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to determine one or more attributes that make a user more or less likely to choose a repair facility based on the executed machine learning model.
13. A computer-implemented method for instructing a user on repairing a vehicle, the method implemented on a repair assistant (“RA”) computer system comprising at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, the RA computer system further in communication with a user computer device associated with the user, the method comprising: receiving, by the at least one processor from the user, a request to repair a vehicle, including information about the vehicle; transmitting, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, an electronic message including instructions to display a link to a user interface to be displayed on the user computer device, wherein when the link is activated by the user the link causes additional instructions to be transmitted to the user computer device to display the user interface to be presented to the user of the user computer device; requesting, by the at least one processor from the user via the user interface, one or more images of the vehicle based on the information about the vehicle, wherein the request includes instructions for taking the one or more images of the vehicle; transmitting, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, a plurality of instructions to cause the user interface of the user computer device to be updated to allow the user to search for a repair facility to repair the vehicle; storing a machine learning model trained with a large sample of repair and vehicle damage data; executing the machine learning model using the one or more images of the vehicle, the machine learning model configured to determine damage to the vehicle based on at least the one or more images of the vehicle and to determine one or more repair facilities capable of performing repairs to the damage to the vehicle; transmitting, to the user computer device, one or more additional instructions to display the determined one or more repair facilities capable of performing the repairs to the damages ahead of other repair facilities when presented to the user; receiving, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, a selection of a repair facility; retrieving, by the at least one processor, a calendar of appointments from a repair facility computer device associated with the selected repair facility; receiving, by the at least one processor via the user interface, a user selection of a date and time for an appointment; comparing, by the at least one processor, the user selection of a date and time for the appointment to the calendar of appointments from the repair facility computer device; transferring, by the at least one processor, the information about the vehicle, the selected date and time, and the one or more images of the vehicle to the repair facility computer device; and receiving, by the at least one processor via the user interface, a confirmation of the appointment from the repair facility computer device.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising: generating, by the at least one processor, a plurality of questions about current conditions of the vehicle; transmitting, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, a plurality of instructions to cause the user interface of the user computer device to display the plurality of questions about the current conditions of the vehicle; and receiving, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface of the user computer device, a plurality of answers about the current conditions of the vehicle in response to the plurality of questions.
15. The method of claim 14 further comprising transmitting, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, an electronic message including instructions to display a link to a user interface to be displayed on the user computer device, wherein when the link is activated by the user the link causes additional instructions to be transmitted to the user computer device to display the user interface to be presented to the user of the user computer device.
16. The method of claim 14 further comprising: requesting, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, the one or more images of the vehicle based on the plurality of answers, wherein the request includes instructions for taking the one or more images of the vehicle; and receiving, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, the one or more images of the vehicle captured by a camera of the user computer device.
17. The method of claim 13 further comprising: request, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, drivability information including whether or not the vehicle is able to be safely driven; if the determination is that the vehicle is not able to be safely driven, schedule, by the at least one processor, a phone call to continue the repair process; if the determination is that the vehicle is able to be safely driven, the at least one processor is further programmed to: transmit, by the at least one processor to the user computer device via the user interface, instructions to display a search interface to search for an inspection facility; receive, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, a selection of an inspection facility; if the determination is that the vehicle is able to be safely driven, the method further comprises: retrieving, by the at least one processor, a calendar of appointments from an inspection facility computer device associated with the selected inspection facility; receiving, by the at least one processor via the user interface, a user selection of a date and time for an appointment; presenting, by the at least one processor to the user computer device via the user interface, a calendar to allow the user to set an inspection appointment with the inspection facility; and determining the inspection appointment based on user selections in the user interface and appointment information from the inspection facility computer device associated with the selected inspection facility.
18. The method of claim 13 further comprising: receiving, from the user computer device via the user interface, a search request including a name of a repair facility; querying one or more databases to recognize the repair facility based on the name; if the name is recognized, retrieving, from the one or more databases, facility information about the repair facility; determining, via the one or more databases, whether the repair facility is a select service location based on the facility information; and requesting that the user reenter the name of the repair facility if the name is not recognized.
19. The method of claim 13 further comprising: receiving, from the user computer device via the user interface, a search location for a repair facility, wherein the search location includes at least one of an address, a zip code, a municipality, and a present location of the user computer device; querying, one or more databases, to determine a plurality of repair facilities within a predetermined distance of the search location; filtering the plurality of repair facilities to generate a subset of repair facilities, wherein the subset of repair facilities are select service locations; presenting, to the user computer device via the user interface, the subset of repair facilities; and receiving, from the user computer device via the user interface, a selection of one of the repair facilities of the subset of repair facilities.
20. The method of claim 13, wherein in response to the request to repair the vehicle, the method further comprises generating the link to the user interface, wherein the link is transmitted to the user computer device in at least one of a short message service (SMS) message, a multimedia messaging server (MMS) message, and an email message.
21. The method of claim 13, wherein the information about the vehicle includes one or more of a make of the vehicle, a model of the vehicle, a year of the vehicle, a location of damage on the vehicle, identification of the vehicle, identification of the user, and the one or more images of the vehicle.
22. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, wherein when executed by at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device and a user computer device associated with a user, the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to: receive, by the at least one processor from the user, a request to repair a vehicle, including information about the vehicle; transmit, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, an electronic message including instructions to display a link to a user interface to be displayed on the user computer device, wherein when the link is activated by the user the link causes additional instructions to be transmitted to the user computer device to display the user interface to be presented to the user of the user computer device; request, by the at least one processor from the user via the user interface, one or more images of the vehicle based on the information about the vehicle, wherein the request includes instructions for taking the one or more images of the vehicle; transmit, from the at least one processor to the user computer device, a plurality of instructions to cause the user interface of the user computer device to be updated to allow the user to search for a repair facility to repair the vehicle; store a machine learning model trained with a large sample of repair and vehicle damage data; execute the machine learning model using the one or more images of the vehicle, the machine learning model configured to determine damage to the vehicle based on at least the one or more images of the vehicle and to determine one or more repair facilities capable of performing repairs to the damage to the vehicle; transmit, to the user computer device, one or more additional instructions to display the determined one or more repair facilities capable of performing the repairs to the damages ahead of other repair facilities when presented to the user; receive, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, a selection of a repair facility; retrieve, by the at least one processor, a calendar of appointments from a repair facility computer device associated with the selected repair facility; receive, by the at least one processor via the user interface, a user selection of a date and time for an appointment; compare, by the at least one processor, the user selection of a date and time for the appointment to the calendar of appointments from the repair facility computer device; transfer, by the at least one processor, the information about the vehicle, the selected date and time, and the one or more images of the vehicle to the repair facility computer device; and receive, by the at least one processor via the user interface, a confirmation of the appointment from the repair facility computer device; and if the selected repair facility is not a select service location, the at least one processor is programmed to: request, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, drivability information including whether or not the vehicle is able to be safely driven; if the determination is that the vehicle is not able to be safely driven, schedule, by the at least one processor, a phone call to continue the repair process; and if the determination is that the vehicle is able to be safely driven, the at least one processor is further programmed to: transmit, by the at least one processor to the user computer device via the user interface, instructions to display a search interface to search for an inspection site; and receive, by the at least one processor from the user computer device via the user interface, a selection of an inspection site.
Unknown
June 3, 2025
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